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JACKSON TWP. — The supervisors voted Monday to take back an offer to lease township property to Verizon Wireless for a wireless communication tower.

Township officials had explored the possibility of leasing a site at a public works facility on Heritage Drive to Verizon, but at last month’s meeting, several nearby residents expressed concerns about what the proximity of a cell tower to their homes would do to their health and property values.

Solicitor Jeffrey Malak said that, after nearly two months, Verizon had still not signed the agreement, so the supervisors authorized him to send a letter revoking it.

He said the agreement was to explore the possibility of leasing land, not an approval for the project, which would have had to go through the zoning process.

Malak said township officials would be open to negotiating a lease in another location in the township.

Resident Sharon Ellsworth asked whether it wouldn’t have been better to talk about the proposed lease in public. Malak pointed out it had been on the agenda for two previous meetings, and that negotiating sales and leases don’t have to be public.

Supervisor Al Fox said township officials are “following to a T” what they need to do, and that people should come to meetings. There are 500 homes in the township and the supervisors aren’t going to send letters to everyone informing them of what is going on in the township.

And, Fox added, the supervisors need input from residents and welcome their questions.

“That’s why we have public meetings,” he said.

In other business, Jackson Township received a $202,545 state recycling grant with West Wyoming Borough, to be used for a wheel loader, which the municipalities will share, and to purchase recycling bins. Supervisor Chairman Jay Wilkes said the new loader, which he expects will arrive in the next few weeks, will allow Jackson Township to do all its yard-waste-into-compost processing in-house.

Fox said the cost to the township will be nothing. He said residents had previously questioned whether the supervisors looked for grants, and invited them to look around to see the improvements in the township made possible by grants. The recycling program couldn’t be operated at no cost to the public without them, he said.

Wilkes and Supervisor Tim Evans noted that small municipalities working together can accomplish more.

“If we don’t piggyback on these grants, none of us gets anything,” Wilkes said.

eskrapits@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2072

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